Alert Newsletter 724

Posted: Thu, 5 Jul 2012 under Alert Newsletter, News

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1. 2012 Rutherford Lecture Series – Christine Winterbourn

Christine WinterbourneA reminder that Christine Winterbourn, winner of the 2011 Rutherford Medal, will be touring the country in July to give the 2012 Rutherford Lecture Series.

Entitled ‘Life with Oxygen, a battle against free radicals’, Professor Winterbourn’s lecture will discuss the development of knowledge on the sources and consequences of free radical production and the health problems that can arise when antioxidant defence is inadequate.

  • Nelson, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Tuesday, 10 July
  • Christchurch, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Wednesday, 11 July
  • Wanaka, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, Thursday, 12 July
  • Wellington, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Thursday, 19 July
  • Napier, 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Tuesday, 24 July
  • Auckland 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Wednesday, 25 July

Bookings for the free public lectures are recommended and can be made from the 2012 Rutherford Lecture page, which also gives lecture venues.

2. 2012 Prime Minister’s Science Prizes round closes 24 July

Prime Minister's Science Prizes logoThe 2012 round of the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are closing soon, on 24 July. Please visit www.pmscienceprizes.org.nz/ to find out more or to enter. 

3. FUSIONZ website for science, technology, humanities jobs

This week, Fusionz has 2 vacancies for jobs. The latest jobs are:

  • International Contract Coordinator / Administrator, Royal Society of New Zealand, Wellington
  • Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Physiology (2 Confirmation-Path positions) University of Otago, Dunedin

For more information and to list your vacancy: http://fusionz.royalsociety.org.nz/

4. The Sir Paul Callaghan Awards for Young Science Orators and Eureka! Symposium, Wellington, 12 July

The 12 finalists (4 secondary and 8 tertiary students) from around New Zealand will compete for the inaugural awards.  Commences at 9am, opened by Rt Hon John Key and concludes with presentations by Miang Lim, Sir Paul’s wife,  and Hon Steven Joyce from 5.30pm. 

Each of the 12 finalists has 15 minutes to demonstrate knowledge of an area of science, technology, engineering or mathematics;  present it clearly and persuasively to a non-science audience; and to set out its practical application and relevance to New Zealand, so that we understand how it will make a difference to our economic, environmental and social wealth and wellbeing. 

The Awards were initiated by the Rotary Club of Wellington in partnership with Sir Paul Callaghan.

See finalists and their synopsis, and register via www.eureka.org.nz.

Details: 8.30-6.30pm, 12 July 2012, Hunter 323, Hunter Building, Victoria University of Wellington. $65 or $20 for students or non-waged.

5. Public science event at Museum of Wellington City & Sea this Saturday  

The public are invited to take part in a range of science-based activities at the Museum of City and Sea in Wellington this Saturday – 7 July.

The focus is understanding past climates by collecting and analysing drill cores from under the seafloor. There will be hands-on activities for kids.

The event includes a live video chat with a New Zealand scientist on a research ship currently in the North Atlantic. The ship is extracting cores from below the seafloor so scientists can tell what the world was like 50 million years ago. The event runs from 12-4pm (video chat at 1pm). Entry is free.

GNS Science micropaleontologist, Denise Kulhanek, will be one of the scientists on hand to talk about earth science.

6. Three Rs Award – for animal ethics, closes 20 July

A reminder that applications for the 2012 National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) Three Rs Award close on Friday 20 July. There is no application form, but you must provide:

  • evidence of how the applicant or nominated individual, group or institution qualifies for the Award (maximum of three pages)
  • curriculum vitae of the applicant(s) or nominee(s)
  • the names and contact details of up to two potential referees (who may, at the Committee’s discretion, be approached for comment)

Applications or nominations (with knowledge of nominee) should be sent to: NAEAC Secretariat, c/- Ministry for Primary Industries, PO Box 2526, Wellington 6140, naeac@mpi.govt.nz.

The prize will consist of a certificate and a financial award of $2,000, which will be presented in Wellington at the NAEAC animal ethics committee workshop on Friday 16 November 2012.  Receipt of the award will be publicised in selected media, although specific details of the work involved can be restricted if appropriate.

The NAEAC Three Rs Award terms of reference can be found at: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/regs/animal-welfare/3rs-award-tor.pdf

7. Cafe Scientifique: “How safe is our food?” Lower Hutt, 26 July

Mike Clear from the Standards Branch of the Ministry of Primary Industries will give a talk entitled ”How safe is our food? –  Food risks and the NZ regulatory environment. “ 

The regulation of food (raw, primary and secondary processed) is very complex because, for most countries and New Zealand in particular, food is exported to many different countries each with their own different food laws which they expect to cover imported food.  New Zealand has its own statutes that regulate or impact on food safety which do not necessarily align with those of our trading partners.

Details: 6-7.30pm, Thur 26 July, Mediterranean Food Warehouse in High St, Lower Hutt.  

8. The Science Behind Our Far South, Wellington, 16 July

A series of talks from several scientists will offer a more in depth look at the issues facing Our Far South – including climate change, fishing, marine protection, mining and conservation.

Our Far South – the area under New Zealand’s stewardship south of Stewart Island – harbours unique wildlife and is the engine room of the global climate and ocean. This session will explore why this area is important, the challenges that are facing it and what New Zealand can do to make a difference.

The evening will be hosted by Nick Tansley, with the keynote speech given by world-leading New Zealand oceanographer Lionel Carter. This will be followed by a question and answer session with other top New Zealand experts in the region.

Details: 6.30-7.30pm, Monday 16 July, Soundings Theatre, Level 2, Te Papa, Wellington.

Tickets: Friends $10.00, Child/Student $5.00, Guests $15.00. For tickets email friends@tepapa.govt.nz or phone the office (04) 381 7051.  If not sold out, door sales will be available outside Soundings Theatre from 6pm.

9. New festival to celebrate the Antarctica and New Zealand relationship, 14 September –  14 October, Christchurch

New Zealand IceFest is a new biennial festival which is set to become one of the biggest events on the New Zealand festival calendar.

If you’re in awe of explorers Scott and Shackleton, have a personal connection to the ice, are passionate about big issues, wondering what to do with the kids during the school holidays in September, or simply want to romance someone on skates, then NZ IceFest is for you. Real-life “Antarcticans” will share their personal experiences and expertise through a wide range of debates and discussions throughout the month of NZ IceFest.

New Zealand IceFest celebrates the Antarctica – New Zealand relationship and our 100 year history of being an Antarctic gateway. See www.nzicefest.co.nz

10. NZCCRI seminar: “Knowledge Matters:  The tangle of science, politics, and policy for climate change”, 19 July, Wellington

Mark Cooper, Visiting Scholar at the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington will give a talk entitled “Knowledge Matters:  The tangle of science, politics, and policy for climate change”.

Identifying options for managing climatic change and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions relies upon knowledge generated across a broad range of scientific disciplines and approaches.  Using examples from both the social and natural sciences, this talk will examine some of the the many ways in which knowledge and uncertainty frame potential action on climate change.  By exploring how particular policy approaches and political aims in turn frame the production of knowledge, insight into the persistent challenges of emissions abatement strategy can be gathered.

Mark is a Ph.D. Candidate in Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Visiting Scholar at the NZ Climate Change Research Institute. Mark’s thesis examines the development of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme as a case study of the interaction of science and politics in greenhouse gas mitigation policy. His interests include the integration of social and natural sciences in environmental governance and the cultural economy of agriculture and land use.

Details: 12.30 – 1.30 pm, Thursday 19 July, Government Buildings, Lecture Theatre 1, Wellington

11. Our Changing World, Thursday 9.00 pm, Radio New Zealand National 101FM

Presented and produced by Alison Ballance, Ruth Beran and Veronika Meduna.

Our apologies for this short notice, but with the announcement last night of the discovery of a new particle at CERN, we have decided to reschedule one of the features we had planned for tonight’s programme and instead bring you the following:

Scientists at CERN, the European research organisation which operates the Large Hadron Collider, confirmed yesterday that they have detected a particle which fits the description of the elusive Higgs Boson – and so, after nearly half a century, the hunt may finally be over. University of Auckland nuclear physicist David Krofcheck explains the significance of the discovery.

Victoria University’s David Ackerley and Janine Copp are developing a new cancer treatment by mimicking evolution in the lab. While it may be some time before the therapy is in clinical trials, their aim is to improve enzymes which activate a prodrug causing cancerous cells to die.
 
Christopher Pease from Aotea Pathology explains to Ruth Beran how pathologists diagnose cancerous tissue by looking down the microscope at patterns of normal and abnormal cells, the use of various coloured stains, and discussing cases with colleagues.
 
PSA-V, a pathogenic bacterium capable of killing kiwifruit vines, was identified in New Zealand in late 2010. Since then a large research effort has been underway to understand and treat the disease. Plant and Food Research already had a significant kiwifruit breeding programme, and it has now added PSA tolerance and resistance to the suite of attributes it looks for in new cultivars. Plant breeder Luis Gea takes Alison Ballance on a tour of the research orchard at Te Puke.
 
Our interview with glaciologist Nancy Bertler about the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution project will play on Our Changing World next Thursday.

Two science and environment stories air during the week on Afternoons with Jim Mora at 3:35pm, Monday and Thursday. The complete programme is repeated at 1:10am on Sunday mornings.

Website for podcasts and live streams: http://radionz.co.nz/ourchangingworld
Contact: ourchangingworld@radionz.co.nz, 04 474 1910
Twitter: @RNZ_Science

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